Challenge: Part 2 of 3 in Dinner for six for under £30

The other weekend I had some friends round for instalment two of my dinner party challenge – to feed (and ideally impress) six for under £30. I was a little nervous — sure, I did a girlie sushi dinner party once before… but could I feed two hungry marathoners, three muscle-bound rowers and, erm, myself? Yes, yes I could!

This time I opted for roast chicken with some seasonal side dishes. Now, I know roast chicken isn’t the most summery of foods, but let’s be honest — England in late July isn’t always the most summery of places.

On the menu: bruschetta; roast chicken with lemon and honey; sautéed peppers; couscous with fresh mint; baby aubergines with basil. I was aiming for a colourful plate stacked with seasonal ingredients, which means a fresher, more ethical (low food miles!) and cheaper meal. Here’s how I went about it:

First things first: groceries

Saturday morning I withdrew £30 from my local cash point (all the better to actually stay on budget) and hit the shops. First up was a local farmer’s market (find one near you) where I picked up a bucket of red and yellow peppers, another of lemons, 2 bunches of spring onions and two punnets of tomatoes. I also picked up some garlic (£1 for three bulbs). All in, I spent £8 – not bad at all!

From there I headed into a little Middle Eastern grocery shop for baby aubergines (£1.90 for a big bag), bunches of fresh mint and basil (£1 each), and a box of couscous (£2.79). I find you get good produce at these places, as the turnover on key ingredients tends to be fairly high.

Penultimate stop was a local butcher’s where I picked up two grain-fed chickens for £3.79 each. If you’re still buying your birds from the big grocery chains, consider the butcher shop option – in my experience, it offers better quality and better value.

Finally, I nipped into a local grocery shop for two baguettes (£1.50 each) and some wine (not included in the budget!). Technical note: I had extra-virgin olive oil, honey, salt and pepper on hand, so I didn’t include them in the list or budget.

Preparation is everything

Back home chez Sassy, I poured myself a G&T (naturellement!) and got to work. Guests were expected at six, so I gave myself two and hours to get everything — myself included — ready.

To prep the chicken, I preheated my oven to 190 and gave each bird a (soap-free) rinse. I peeled four cloves of garlic and quartered four lemons, then poured a splash of oil into the roasting pan to avoid any embarrassing chicken-sticking-to-pan situations. Into each chicken went two cloves of garlic and as many lemon wedges as I could fit. I then sat the birds in a roasting pan, nestled the rest of them lemons in with them, and tossed some salt and pepper in on top.

Cooking the chicken took about an hour and a half. The birds went in at 190 and after fifteen or so minutes, I pulled them out, turned the oven down to 160, and drizzled each of them with 2 tablespoons honey and a big squeeze of lemon juice. I gave them another hour and a half or so at 160, basting them every half hour or so (feel free to add more lemon juice and honey if things seem arid). The basting can be a minor faff but it’s worth it in the end, dry chicken being something of a dinner party faux pas.

Roast chicken, straight from the oven

Bruschetta is easy to make, it just takes a bit of time. I rinsed, seeded and chopped the tomatoes (about 300ml in total) and then added in 3 stalks finely chopped spring onions, 2 cloves minced garlic and a big handful of basil leaves, roughly chopped. I threw in a bit of sea salt and a splash of olive oil and set this aside.

To assemble bruschetta, slice your baguette(s) into little rounds and toast them (both sides!) in a warm oven; I slid them in on the rack under the chicken. Then lay them out on a serving plate and scoop some tomato and basil mix onto each. Done!

Thanks Svadilfari for the pic – mine didn’t turn out!

The sautéed pepper dish was easy. All you need are peppers, salt and pepper, and some olive oil – the trick is cooking it really slowly. I sliced eight red and yellow peppers into thin (1cm wide, at most) strips and threw them in a wok with some olive oil, keeping the heat really low. You’re looking at 30-45 minutes of slow frying, as you want to cook them peppers until they are soft and sweet, and the sugar in them caramelises.

Making their debut along with the chicken and peppers were my baby aubergines. Again, I kept things pretty simple on this one. I rinsed them in water, left them whole (tip: try to buy them all the same size, so they cook in time), and tossed them with olive oil and sea salt. I put them in the oven (under the chicken, so same old 160 degrees) and left them there for about 20 minutes, giving them a turn once. I served them on a bed of fresh basil.

Baby aubergines with basil

Finally, the couscous – easiest dish of the day. Abiding by the water:couscous ratio on the back of the box, I made two small changes. Firstly, I didn’t use straight water, but water with a bit of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Secondly, once the couscous was cooked, I added a little more salt and pepper and, as I fluffed it with a fork (see box), I tossed in a handful of chopped spring onion and a handful of chopped fresh mint. And that was it!

Couscous with spring onion and mint

Dinner is served!

Plate the first -- chicken, couscous, aubergines and peppers

With a total food cost of £25.27, I met my target and, importantly, impressed my guests. (You know rowers and marathoners are happy with the food when they have a third plate and suggest they’ll make an extra workout next week — haha!) What’s more, the last time I held a dinner party like this I spent about £50 in total, splashing out on ready-made bits and and last-minute add-ons. So that’s a savings of £25… not too bad!

Considering  a dinner party of your own? Give these recipes a try and tell us how you fare, or challenge me with a suggestion of your own.